The jobs are stacking up for a newly-established drone business in the far north of Western Australia. Source: ABC Rural
From crop inspections, to filming promotional videos and even tree counting for one of the local forestry companies, Kununurra-based Ben Broadwith is keeping his new drone busy.
“The technology with these things is moving so quickly, and so too is the type of jobs and industries which can benefit from them,” he said.
“What I’m really excited about is the potential for multispectral cameras which can monitor plant health.
“They do that by using a near-infrared-camera (NIV), which our eyes can’t see.
“It’s a wavelength of light which is reflected from the plant, and based on its health, is how much light it reflects which the camera can detect.
“We can use that data to let farmers know where they can apply less or more fertiliser. “We can also use it to detect pests and detect soil health.”
Mr Broadwith said it was exciting to be working for farmers keen to embrace new technology and ideas.
“It’s all so new and I’m trying to get my head around it, but chatting to farmers in the region they’re really embracing the idea and think it’s something we need to have, especially if it can increase yield and reduce costs,” he said.
“I’m really interested in the technology, and if this can help grow better crops and save people money, then that’s right up my alley.”
A report by PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates the addressable market for agricultural drones to be worth an incredible $32.4 billion. It predicts huge growth in drone usage, especially for crop supervision and the analysis of soil and plant health.
“Until recently, the most advanced form of monitoring used satellite imagery,” said the report.
“The main limitation was that images had to be ordered in advance, could be taken only once a day and were not very precise.”
The report said: “In addition, the services were extremely expensive and gave no guarantee of quality, which could easily drop on a cloudy day.
“Today, drone technology offers a large variety of crop monitoring possibilities at a lower cost.
“Furthermore, drones can be integrated at every stage of the crop lifecycle, from soil analysis and seed planting to choosing the right moment for harvesting.”
